A detailed look at the game of Dungeons & Dragons and all things related

Monday, April 7, 2014

5 Fantasy Series You Should Read If You Play D&D

Movies, television, and theatre are wonderful places to
get ideas, concepts, and even plot-lines for great D&D campaigns. However,
for true inspiration and a real feel for how adventures/characters should play out,
nothing beats a good series of novels. When you have several volumes to work
with and each one is hundreds of pages long, authors can really immerse you into
their character’s world. This is exactly what DMs should do with their players
and a really good fantasy series can show you how.

So, with that being said, I’d like to offer up five
fantasy series that I highly recommend anyone with a strong passion for D&D
should read. Each of these series has amazing characters, a gripping plot,
and the kind of sweeping grandness that I strive for in every one of my
campaigns. I know that there are dozens more that I am neglecting, or simply
haven’t discovered yet, but these feature most prominently in my mind and I’ll
give you the reasons why:

(In order of release date)

1.The
Land of Oz Series, by L. Frank Baum (1900-1920)

I think it’s a tossup between
this series of books or The Legend of Zelda for NES as my earliest exposure to
fantasy. What I loved about these books as a child was their unending
creativity in a world that was both alien and familiar at the same time. As an
adult, I love them for their whimsical nature and the evolution of characters
that continually show that they have more intelligence, courage, and heart than
many of us. What I feel this series most has to offer a DM: how to be creative.

2.The
Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien (1954-1955)

It may be
cliché but this is really the series that ushered in the modern-day fantasy era
and I have my doubts that D&D would have ever become as popular as it did
without these books. The reasons why are as long as my arm and although it can
be criticized for being long-winded; Tolkien’s masterpiece trilogy is sublimely
rich in its texture, complex and dynamic in its characters, and almost
overwhelming in the depth of its world. It spawned entire languages, introduced
races and fantasy concepts that are now foundations in the genre, and most importantly
it told a damn good story. It is currently the high-water line to which almost
all fantasy is compared and what many DMs try to emulate in their adventures to
many varying degrees of success. What I feel this series most has to offer a
DM: how to be epic.

3.The
Legend of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore (1988-Present)

Bob Salvatore is a living
legend in the fantasy world and his characters, especially a certain Drow
Ranger, have been selling like hot-cakes for close to thirty years. At the time
I first read the Icewind Dale Trilogy (circa 1996), Salvatore was already nine
books into the series and the quality, in my opinion, only gets better. They
are fun and easy reading books with a lot of D&D references. Also, you
can’t help but pick up on that “this guy loves his work” feeling. Salvatore is
also famous for his fight scenes and the ones between Drizzt and Artemis are
mesmerizing. To this day I still challenge myself to make all of my in-game
battles as dynamic and thrilling as those. What I feel this series most has to
offer a DM: how to run an amazing battle.

4.The
Wheel of Time Series, by Robert Jordan and Branden Sanderson (1990-2013)

Most people either love this
series or hate it. Those that hate it have issues with the meandering plot that doesn’t seem to go anywhere for chapters at a stretch or with the daunting
length of the series at nearly 12,000 pages over 14 books. However, for those of
us who love these books, we know the value of a long set-up for a huge pay off
at the end. We fell in love with characters who seem almost real and who are
forced to make difficult decisions in hard times; we learned about the history,
present, and possible future of a world almost as intricate as Middle Earth;
and we witnessed the rise and fall of the Dragon Reborn. What I feel this
series most has to offer a DM: how to pace/build your story for the long haul.

5.A
Song of Ice and Fire Series, by George R.R. Martin (1996-Present)

These books are a perfect
example of a terrific fantasy series becoming quickly overshadowed by its media
version (Lord of the Rings is the other good example). But compared to the
groundbreaking television incarnation, these books are even better. Until
Martin came onto the scene eighteen years ago, no one before him had so
expertly mixed a fantasy story with dark, gritty, backstabbing politics.
Further, he stepped into a realm that very few before him dared to venture: he
was willing to kill any character, even loved ones, at any time! Not sure if
you could classify this series as “edge of your chair reading” but it certainly
feels like it at times. The constant fear that “your” character might be the
next on the chopping block makes you fall in love with them even more. What I
feel this series most has to offer a DM: how to create/manage intrigue.

Honorable mention goes to the following:

-The Discworld Series, by Terry Pratchett
(1983-Present). Read this one if you want to know more about fantasy mixed with
comedy.

-The Dragonlance Chronicles Trilogy, by Margaret
Weis and Tracy Hickman (1984-1985). Read this one if you crave more D&D
references in a beautiful story about the Heroes of the Lance.

-The Serpentwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
(1994-1998). Read this one if you like your fantasy light on magic but high on
combat.

-The Old Kingdom Trilogy, by Garth Nix
(1995-2003). Read this one if you’re interested in undead and how to walk the
fine-line between good and evil.

Do you have a fantasy series that you think D&D
players need to read? Post it below!